Ask, Don't Tell: Tips for working with instructional designers

Learning consultants tend to hear these a lot:

We want an eLearning course.”
“I want a Storyline module.”
“We need you to build a quiz.”
“I want a video.”
“Can you do a webinar for us?”

I suspect that this is one of the top three pet peeves of all instructional designers out there: Many clients and businesses reach out to us asking for a specific deliverable. You've already decided on the learning delivery and format. If you’ve done this before, you were probably on the right track. You know your audience and your needs, and you’ve likely already conducted your own needs analysis or done some requirement gathering.
 
Often though, by asking for a specific delivery method, you may be selling yourself short. You may not be requesting the most appropriate learning to meet your objective. Instead, work with your learning consultant to explore whether better options exist. It’s their job to make recommendations.

Selecting the most appropriate delivery method for learning really depends on a variety of factors:
 
1. Needs analysis—what problem should the learning solve?
 
An important component of instructional designers’ work is a needs analysis. This consists of weighing the project goals, requirements, audience characteristics, and then recommending n the most effective delivery method.
 
Here are some of the questions I like to ask my clients before I recommend which learning deliverable will provide optimal outcomes:

• What problem will this learning solve? What learner behaviour do you want to change with this course/event?
• Tell me about your audience (skills, characteristics, openness to change, etc.). How will this learning potentially impact them (positively/negatively)?
• How can this learning request meet your business or organizational goals?
• Which delivery methods have worked well in the past and why? Are you open to other delivery methods if they could be more effective?
• What constraints are we working within (geography, cost, time, etc.)?

 
At the end of the needs analysis phase, your instructional designer can recommend the delivery model that will be most effective for the audience, objectives, topic and existing platforms.
 
2. Learning tools inventory—what tools do you already have and use, and how relevant are they for delivering the learning?
 
Next, I take inventory of what tools and systems the organization I’m working with has at their disposal. This is especially important for blended learning requests. The project deliverable has to work within these, or the scope of the project needs to expand. For example, it doesn’t make sense to ask for an eLearning course (i.e., this usually means a SCORM file or Shareable Content Object Reference Model) without having a learning management system or learning experience platform to host, play, deliver and track SCORM-built learning.
 
In most cases, organizations already have excellent delivery tools and systems already in-house that learning consultants will leverage. For example, if your organization uses a video conferencing tool like GoToMeeting, Zoom or MeetMe, then you have a platform to deliver virtual instructor-led training like webinars or mini virtual coaching sessions.
 
3. Constraints—what’s your budget and when does the training have to be delivered?
 
Sometimes our best and most creative ideas are born in the most constrained and rigid settings. An experienced instructional designer will not only do a thorough needs analysis and look at your existing tools, they should also respect your budget and other logistical and operational requirements.
 
Working with subject matter experts from every department in the company might seem like a good idea until you crunch the numbers and realize that would negatively impact front-line resources.
 
Similarly, requesting a 5-day train-the-trainer program doesn’t make sense if the organization doesn’t have the travel budget or travel time to allocate for in-person training. Your learning consultant will take these things into consideration when recommending the delivery method that works best for your organization.
 

So, before you contact an eLearning consultant to “build a 15-slide eLearning course”, be open to working with them to select the best deliverable for your objective. It’s more effective to outline your goal and budget and let your consultant work within these parameters. Let us Instructional Designers recommend the deliverables that best match your training objectives and you’ll get more bang for your buck!

• Hiring tip: To get the most out of your learning consultant, ask them how they’ll weigh their needs analysis, learning tools inventory and constraints before asking them what learning delivery method they would recommend for your project. In many cases, they can make a number of recommendations based on all three to ensure your project’s success. Read more tips on how to hire the right learning consultant.

 
If you’re reading this post and want to hear more about some of the recommendations I’ve made for my clients, don't hesitate to get in touch!
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